toxins Article Diversity and Toxicity of the Genus Coolia Meunier in Brazil, and Detection of 44-methyl Gambierone in Coolia tropicalis Carlos Eduardo Junqueira de Azevedo Tibiriçá 1,* , Manoella Sibat 2 , Luciano Felício Fernandes 3, Gwenaël Bilien 4 , Nicolas Chomérat 4, Philipp Hess 4,* and Luiz L. Mafra Jr 1,* 1 Universidade Federal do Paraná, Centro de Estudos do Mar, Cx, Postal 61, Pontal do Paraná PR 83255-976, Brazil 2 IFREMER, DYNECO, Phycotoxins Laboratory, 44000 Nantes, France;
[email protected] 3 Universidade Federal do Paraná, Departamento de Botânica, Cx. Postal 19031, Curitiba PR 81531-990, Brazil; lff@ufpr.br 4 Ifremer, LITTORAL, Laboratory of Environment and Resources Western Britanny, 29900 Concarneau, France;
[email protected] (G.B.);
[email protected] (N.C.) * Correspondence:
[email protected] (C.E.J.d.A.T.);
[email protected] (P.H.);
[email protected] (L.L.M.J.) Received: 14 April 2020; Accepted: 13 May 2020; Published: 15 May 2020 Abstract: Coolia is a genus of marine benthic dinoflagellates which is widely distributed in tropical and temperate zones. Toxicity has been reported in selected Coolia species, although the identity of causative compounds is still controversial. In this study, we investigated the taxonomical and toxicological aspects of Coolia species from Brazil. Since light- and electron microscopy-based morphology was not enough to distinguish small-celled species, ITS and LSU D1-D3 phylogenetic analyses were used for species definition. Cultures of Coolia palmyrensis and Coolia santacroce were established from samples collected along the northeastern Brazilian coast, the first record of both species in South Atlantic waters.